Finance Minister Jim Flaherty delivers his fiscal update in Ottawa, Oct. 30, 2007. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)
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Your thoughts: What's your view of the tax cuts?
CBC story: Government proposes $60B in tax cuts, with further GST drop
"Well, we all have to pay our bills but paying down the federal debt by $10 billion is too much for one year. Better to use that money to shore up some crumbling infrastructure, invest in mass transit and CO2 emissions targets instead."
– Don
"It sounds rather generous, if ones does not consider that what they are giving you is your own money. It’s a bit of an odd concept."
– Michael
"Cutting taxes is a faulty policy, proven to increase the gap between the rich and the poor. Usually governments say that cutting taxes will stimulate the economy, but Canada's economy doesn't need stimulating. Let's bring someone into office who will invest Canada's wealth into infrastructure and services that will give Canadians the high standard of living that Scandinavians are enjoying."
– StephenA | Kelowna
"I am all for the tax cuts. If you don't cut taxes in good times, when the tough times come the inevitable increases will never be offset. The net result is a never-ending creep to higher and higher tax levels."
– Chris | Alberta
"There shouldn't be any tax cuts at all, apart from the lowering of the GST, as the monies they have now should be covering what has been downloaded onto the provincial and municipal governments, which are in dire straights."
– Chapman
"I don't believe a cut in the GST really benefits the average Canadian. I don't see that the last cut really affected my bottom line as price increases seemed to absorb any savings. It would have been far wiser to reduce income taxes even further for all Canadians by the value of one GST point."
– Edward
"I like it. A little bit for everyone. Between all the measures, I'll definitely see a tax reduction, as will all Canadians."
– Dave | Calgary
"Don't get too excited, it's over 5 years remember and the way they are going, they may not be around that long, hopefully!!!!"
– Betty
"As Canadians, we have something to be proud of since we are the only nation of the G8 who have a budget surplus. Not to mention paying down our debt, which is sound long-term fiscal responsibility."
– Phil
"I'm not saying we should go back to the days of deficits, but a surplus should pay down the debt and restore failing social services. I'll have that over a 1% GST drop any day."
– Mark | Victoria
"I guess Mr. Flaherty thinks that the lives of Canadians are improved not through investment to health infrastructure (of the kind that the Conservatives keep telling us only private health care can address), but rather by giving consumers an extra $20 per month for Xbox games and lotto tickets."
– Quintin
"One minute they say they can't provide all the programs we need and the next minute they are reducing taxes. It’s like a man saying he can't afford to provide for his family and then going to his employer and asking to be paid less."
– Don
"It seems to me that introducing tax cuts to put extra money into the hands of people in the lower tax brackets is simply a way of disguising the cuts to social programs that are likely to come later on. After all, if we have the money already, we don't need government funded health care, right?"
– J | B.C.
"Canadian Retailers have already demonstrated that they aren't going to reduce prices for consumers, even though the Canadian dollar is now stronger than the US greenback. The GST reduction will help EVERYONE, where retailers choose to screw us."
– Gord
"Don't increase them, don't reduce them; put them to work to create equal opportunity among our people. Social services are being reduced to a corporate subsidy, or are being removed to provide a market."
– Marie | Vancouver
"The GST is a tax which everyone pays, thus a cut to it actually helps everyone -- rich or poor. Even 1% is of help."
– Uta
"Lower federal taxes will eventually provide proper "fiscal balance" and provide room for provincial governments to fund the biggies in our lives (education, health, etc.). Canada needs to be more decentralized to function at its best. These federal tax cuts are a step in the right direction."
– Marc
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